A Broken Soul(34)

"What are you doing?"

My eyes flicked open and it took a second for me to get my bearings and remember where I was. Sunlight was streaming through the slats of the blinds on Sophia's bedroom window, lighting everything in a pretty combination of pink and orange. Quinn was standing in the doorway, his face completely blank and unreadable, thick arms crossed over his broad chest. If I wasn't still half asleep, I probably would have drooled at the sight of him in his navy work uniform.

"Hey," I spoke, my voice raspy from sleep as I lifted my right arm that was resting around Sophia's and carefully pulled my left from beneath her body, mindful not to wake her. "You're home. What time is it?"

"7:15." It was the short, choppy way he answered that put me on alert. As I stood from the bed and made my way to the door, I noticed the air was almost static. I'd been wrong. Quinn's face wasn't blank. The closer I got, I realized something had seriously pissed him off. I just had no idea what.

"You okay?"

"You haven't answered my question. What the hell are you doing?"

With a quick glance behind me to confirm Quinn hadn't woken Sophia, I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the hallway, closing the door behind us so as not to disturb her.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my voice still a whisper as we moved a few feet from the door. It was when I finally registered my hand on Quinn's arm that I realized his entire body was strung tight.

"Why were you in her bed?"

My forehead wrinkled as my eyebrows dipped in a V. "She had a pretty bad nightmare last night, and didn't want me to leave. I held her until she fell back asleep, and I must have dozed off."

"She has a nightmare, you stay with her until she's asleep, then you get the hell up and leave. You don't sleep in there with her."

My jaw dropped as I tried to figure out what was going on. "Quinn, I-"

"You're not her fucking mother, so don't pretend to be. First, it was cleaning up after the party like it was your job, now this? You couldn't replace Addy if you tried, so don't. Fucking. Try," he barked out angrily. His words forced me to jerk back like he'd just hit me, and in a way, I guess he had, because I certainly felt what he'd said like a physical blow.

"I wasn't … " I started, but the lump forming in my throat blocked what I was trying to say. Swallowing painfully, I tried once more. "I'd never try to do that … "

He let out a sarcastic laugh as he dropped his arms and rested his hands on his hips. The new stance didn't make him any less threatening, and as I stared at him, my nose burned and my eyes began to sting. "Could have fooled me. Looked like you were trying pretty fucking hard to cozy up to my daughter in there. You're her dance teacher, that's it. Don't try and be something more, you'll just be disappointed when you can't live up to the real thing."



       
         
       
        

I had to take a step back with each word as they hit me, over and over, each hurting worse than the last.

"Wow," I breathed, it was the only word I was able to say for several seconds as I fought to keep from crying. Quinn had just flayed me open without missing a beat. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of letting him see me cry. For every step forward I think we've taken, he did something so callous, so mean, we take at least thirty steps back. And standing in front of him just then, having just taken the brunt of yet another mood swing, I wondered why I even wanted to be friends with this man. There hadn't been someone in my life who made me feel so low since I was a kid, picked on for being a little different.

"Glad to know that's how little you think of me. I'll be sure not to forget that." I stomped into the living room, picking up my shoes, lifting the overnight bag I had onto my shoulder, and grabbing my purse from the coffee table. I wasn't going to wait the extra seconds it would take to slide my feet in and lace them up. Fuck that, I was getting out of there.

I stopped just long enough to look at him over my shoulder and say, "You know, I get that you're hurting, I do. And I'm sorry for everything you lost. But that pain doesn't give you the right to be an asshole to every person in your life. You don't hold the fucking monopoly on suffering, Quinn, but if you want to spend the rest of your life miserable and alone, have at it. I'm done trying to help someone who'd rather hurt the people who care about him than try and feel better."

I wanted to slam the door, take my anger and pain out physically, but I wasn't willing to risk Sophia overhearing and possibly getting upset. No matter how much of an asshole her father was, I still cared deeply for her. So I shut the door quietly and walked as fast as I could to my car, tossing my stuff over to the passenger side. From the corner of my eye, I saw the front door open as Quinn's large frame filled the doorway, but I wouldn't let myself look.